My younger brother by three years, bought a 1970 340 Fish from questionable dealer in Jacksonville,FL around 1986. The car was pretty bare inside with a great body but the Motor was stout! He would never listen to me and run higher octane gas!
First issue was a pushrod through a rocker! No biggie and the lifter survived! fixed it in our apartment parking lot.
About a month later he came home and said more issues! Checked it out and big issues! They never listen to good advice!
Tore it down in the same parking lot and two pistons had the ring lands busted out. They came out in three pieces! The windage tray damn near fell out in my hands when the pan was removed! Only one bolt held it in! Amazing there was no cylinder Bore scaring!
Ordered two replacement 10.5 standard bore TRW pistons as to the originals. Honed the all the cylinders with a brush style hone re-ringed and re-assembled! Added a 484 purple cam, All in the parking lot. That little 340 was an awesome engine!!!!!!!!!
I had to de-tune him from there for two reasons! His stupidity and there was no way his 340 was going to beat my A-body with 383/727/3500 stall 4.56 geared car!
We later put 5.23 gears in that 70 fish and it was a killer!!!
He ended up selling it to my next older brother in Nashville, Tn. He tried to sell the car a year later and was scammed by the buyer as his accomplish took it for a test drive and hauled *** away with it while my older older brother was getting the title!
Both of my brothers are idiots! That 340 was a pure badass though!